A South Florida man has been charged with transporting and possessing what is believed to be an original Henri Matisse painting that was stolen from a museum in Venezuela.

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Pedro Guzman, 46, of Miami, and co-defendant Maria Lazo, 50, of Mexico City, Mexico, were arrested in Miami Beach. They are scheduled to appear in federal court Friday afternoon.

Federal prosecutors said Guzman negotiated the sale of the "Odalisque in Red Pants" painting, which was stolen from the Caracas Museum of Contemporary Art in December 2002.

According to court documents, Guzman admitted to undercover FBI agents during a meeting that he knew the painting was stolen and offered to sell it for about $740,000. The painting is valued at about $3 million.

Prosecutors said Guzman agreed to have the painting transported by courier to the United States from Mexico, where it was being stored. The courier was identified as Lazo in court documents.

Lazo arrived at Miami International Airport on Monday carrying the painting in a tube, prosecutors said. The defendants met with undercover agents the next day and revealed the painting, at which time they were arrested.